Hosiery collecting apparatus



July 1, 1969 c. A. FOREMAN IHOSIERY COLLECTING APPARATUS Filed May 5.1967 Sheet All INVENTOR CALEY A. FOREMAN BY ham ArToRrueYs FIG. 3

July 1, 1969 c, FOREMAN 3,453,028

HOSIEJRY COLLECTING APPARATUS Filed May :5, 1967 Sheet 3 of 5 INVENTORQALEY A.FOREMAN' ATTORNEYS Sheet Filed May 5, 1967 will}... i m

n C| fl N A Rm s R "1, & mo a N M M MA & m M m\ IPL. o m a P Y. mm B Hwmhum mm J 3J WLFQI u x I S United States Patent US. Cl. 30227 4 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The apparatus disclosed herein is adapted tobe utilized with a plurality of knitting machines, particularly circularknitting machines, and to periodically, under control of an operator,discharge the hosiery knit by all machines of a selected group onto atable from which it is taken individually for inspection. At the sametime that the group of machines is selected and the hosiery therefromconveyed to the inspection station, a particular tray associated withthe group of machines selected is positioned in front of the operator orinspector, so that after inspection each tray will have stacked upon itaccepted hosiery of a specific style and size, i.e., corresponding tothe knitting machines of the selected group. For storage purposes asecond group of trays may be provided and positioned simultaneously withthe trays of the first group, the collector means then being arranged todischarge upon a selected tray of the storage group. Arrangements areprovided so that the machines may be grouped in any desired manner,irrespective of their physical location, thus enabling an operator bythe operation of a single pushbutton or switch to cause all hosieryaccumulated in a number of knitting machines, knitting for example, thesame size and style of hosiery, to be discharged substantiallysimultaneously and permitting the assignment of knitting machines tosizes and styles in accordance with the Workload.

The invention thus pertains to knitting and more particularly to thecollection of hosiery from a large number of knitting machines in groupsaccording to a particular classification, and to means providing trayson which to deposit the classified items before or after inspection, orboth.

Heretofore, hosiery has been deposited in receptacles at the individualknitting machine and has been collected by messenger girls and taken toan inspection station, the hosiery collected from the machines beingsorted ordinarily by the messenger girls or sometimes by the inspector,and after inspection being deposited on one of a number 'of trays whichwere located on tables surrounding the inspection position, the traysbeing periodically removed and taken by messengers or at times byconveyor belt to the next operation.

It has been proposed prior to my invention, to provide a collectionsystem in which an air conveyor system was provided and each individualhosiery machine had a gate valve which caused hosiery accumulated atthat machine to be discharged into the airstream and taken to aninspection station.

While this arrangement was an improvement upon the messenger system, itrequired the inspector or other operator to operate the selectionswitches in accordance with a chart indicating the size and style whicheach machine was then knitting, and the operation of the individualvalve means sequentially if sorting of the hosiery into styles and sizeswas to occur. Usually, even when the hosiery had been thus properlydischarged by operation of the individual switches, there was no placeavailable to stack the inspected hose except trays arranged on tablesabout the inspection position, and thus the inspector-operator had toselect from the individual trays, which made the operation alwayssubject to human error.

As is obvious from the above, this invention eliminates or at leastminimizes human error and assures that the hosiery will be delivered tothe inspection station in proper groups and will be stacked on traysindividual to the groups. As will also be obvious, the grouping does nothave to be performed during each series of operations, but is performedby inserting plugs into jacks whenever machines are reassigned, and thegrouping thus changed. Furthermore, the grouping is readily done by aplant maintenance or production worker who is familiar with and capableof doing this operation with a minimum of error.

To summarize, the invention comprises apparatus for collecting hosieryfrom machines which are arranged in groups in accordance with the workwhich they are then performing, so that hosiery is sorted as to certaincharacteristics thereof, such as style and size, and discharged at aninspection station and is thereafter, subsequent to in spection of eachstocking, deposited in a tray which is automatically presented to theinspector at the time a group of machines is selected to discharge atthe inspection station. Thus, human error which is necessarily presentwhen the older systems of use of messengers to convey the hosiery fromthe individual machines to the inspection station or the discharge ofhosiery automatically from individual machines at the inspection stationemployed, is minimized.

Various features and details of the invention described herein will beapparent when the following description is considered in connection withthe annexed drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic view showing the installation of conduits andair supplies for conveying hosiery from knitting machines to a centralselection station;

FIGURE 2 is a front-elev-ational view showing a control console at theinspection station, which console includes a container into whichhosiery is discharged, various control switches, and a form on which thehose is placed for inspection;

FIGURE 3 is a front-elevational view of the tray-selection mechanism;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the trayselectingmechanism of FIGURE 3, taken on the plane of the line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a horizontal sectional view of a portion of the traymechanism supporting frame and drive chains, showing particularlyswitches for controlling stopping of the chains mounted on frame membersand the mounting of actuators for these switches on the drive chains,and

FIGURE 6 is a schematic wiring diagram of the circuits controlling thedischarge of hose and the positioning of the selector tray or trays.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG- URE 1 thereof,there is indicated by the dotted lines designated 10, a conventionalcircular knitting machine, it being understood that this showing isrepresentative of one of many knitting machines. Finished hosiery fromthis machine shown are discharged by conventional means indicated at 11and including a source of air pressure 12, into a receptacle 13. Whenthe hose was manually collected the receptacle 13 was normally abox-like member from which the hosiery was removed by hand and taken tothe inspection station, whether that station was located centrally orwas located in the aisle between the machines as was frequently thecase.

In the present instance the receptacle 13 is preferably a tube and alsopreferably of plastic or other transparent material. Thus stockings asknitted are deposited in the receptacle 13. Connected to receptacle 13at the bottom thereof is a pipe 14 which extends upwardly and dischargesinto a horizontal pipe 15. It will be understood that the pipe 15extends above a bank of knitting machines and that a number of pipes 14enter into the pipe 15 in the manner just above described. It will alsobe understood that there will be as many pipes 15 as are required forthe number of knitting machines considered. Each pipe 15 is connected atone end by flexible tubing 16 to a blower 17, which blower is constantlyoperating and thus blowing air through the pipe 15. At their oppositeends the pipes 15 merge and extend downwardly as shown at 18, todischarge into a receptacle 20, which is located on and forms a part ofa control console 21.

Attached at the lowermost point of the pipe 14 is a compresed air supplytube 22 which is supplied with air through a valve 23 controlled by asolenoid 24. As will be obvious, when the solenoid 24 is operated andvalve 23 opened, compressed air is admitted to the pipe 14 and causesthe accumulated hosiery in the receptacle or tube 13 to be blown throughthe pipe 14 and discharged into the pipe 15. The stream of air moving inpipe 15, due to the operation of blower 17, then causes the hosiery tomove through the pipes 15 and their downward extensions 18 and to dropinto the receptacle 20.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, it will be seen that the console or cabinet21 has fixed thereto the receptacle which has discharge openings 25across which extend bars 26 which are mounted for vertical slidingmovement in the brackets 27. Thus hose deposited in the receptacle mayreadily be removed but are not discharged until removal is manuallyeffected. Mounted on the front of the cabinet 21 by means of the bracket28 is an inspection form 30. the mounting indicated at 31 being such asto provide rotary movement of the form 30. At each end of the cabinet 21is a panel 33 which in the present instance has mounted thereon a seriesof twenty-five toggle switches 34 and a like series of indicating lights35. As will appear later, each toggle switch 34 and indicator light 35is associated with the solenoid valve of one of fifty knitting machines,it being understood that the number of machines is purely arbitrary andthat the system may provide for a. greater or lesser number as isdesirable.

Also mounted on the front of the cabinet 21 is a series of ten switches36 which as will appear are arranged to control the operation of aselected group of solenoids 24. Fixed to the right-hand one of the twopanel boards 33 or mounted in any other suitable location, is a jackpanel 37 which in the present instance is provided with a series of twohundred jacks 38 which in the present instance are arranged in tengroups of twenty jacks each, each group being associated with one of theswitches 36.

Mounted in suitable position adjacent the jack panel 37 are plug cords40, equal in number to the number of knitting machines controlled, thecords being connected individually to individual ones of the toggleswitches 34.

The tray-selecting mechanism previously mentioned is best shown inFIGURES 3, 4, and 5, and is mounted in the cabinet 21 in such mannerthat the selected tray is accessible through the opening 29 in thecabinet 21. The tray-selecting mechanism comprises the two shafts 41 and42, which are, as shown, suitably journaled in frame members of thecabinet 21, such as 43 and 44. Mounted on each of the shafts 41 and 42is a pair of sprocket wheels designated respectively 45 and 46. Endlesschains 47 and 48 extend around these sprocket wheels. The wheels andchains are driven through the medium of a motor 50, chain 51 andsprocket 52 fixed on the shaft 41.

At spaced intervals triangular brackets 53 are rigidly fixed to links ofthe chains 47 and 48 (see FIGS. 4 and 5 Fixed in the outer end of eachbracket 53 is a pin 54 on which an arm 55 is pivotally mounted, :beingspaced from the bracket 53 by a spacer 56, the arm being held inposition by means of a collar 57 and C-clip 58.

At the lower end of each arm 55 an angle member 60 is mounted, theangles facing inwardly and forming supports for rectangular trays 61,the trays being provided with pins 62 at the edges of the bottomthereof, which pins are adapted to enter holes in the angles 60. Due tothe pivotal mounting of the arms 55, the trays 61 are maintained inhorizontal position during the rotation of the sprocket wheels andcorresponding movement of the drive chains.

Mounted on the chain 47 and spaced at intervals corresponding to thespacing of the brackets 53, are switch actuator support bars 63, themounting being such that the bars are rigidly fixed to the chain andextend inwardly. Each of the bars 63 is provided with ten actuatormounting positions which may, for example, be threaded openings in whichactuator pins such as those shown at 64 (FIG. 5) may be threaded andlocked into position. As will shortly appear, pins 64 cooperate with andactuate microswitches which are effective to de-cnergize the motor andto thus stop the chains with a particular one of the trays 61 locatedfor access through the opening 29.

Mounted on a horizontally extending frame member 65 of the cabinet 21 isan angle bar 67 on which is mounted in turn a second angle bar 68 whichcarries the brackets 70 supporting a group of ten microswitches 71.

Mounted on a frame member 72 of the cabinet 21 is a plate 73 which hasfixed thereto two bar-s 74 and 75; the bar 74 bears against the innerend of the actuator bars 63 and holds them in position so that the pins64 engage the actuator arms 76 of the microswitches 71. Arm 75 serves toassure that the ends of the arms 63 will not engage the teeth of thesprocket wheel 45 as the chain rotates, and is provided merely as aprecautionary measure for this purpose.

Microswitches 71 are normally closed and are caused to move tocircuit-opening position when a pin 64 engages with the correspondingmicroswitch actuator 76. The microswitches are ten in number and each isconnected, as will shortly appear, in the holding circuit of one of tenrelays.

The operation of the mechanism will now be described, referringparticularly to the schematic wiring diagram, FIGURE 6. Alternatingcurrent power is connected by means of a switch 80 to the primarywinding 81 of a transformer, the secondary winding 82 of which isconnected to a bridge rectifier 84, the DC. output of which is connectedto the relays, signal lamps, solenoids, etc.

In the particular instance, there are ten relays designated 39 which areassociated respectively with the ten switches 36. Each relay 39 isprovided with three pairs of contacts a, b, and 0. Contacts 0 of allrelays 39 are connected in parallel in the circuit to motor 40, so thatwhen any one of the relays is operated, the motor is energized from thealternating current source. The b contacts of each relay 36 areconnected one to one side of the DC. source and the other to a group of20 of the jacks 38. The a contacts of each of the relays 39 areconnected on one side through a corresponding one of the microswitches71 to one side of the DC source and on the other side to one side of thewinding of the relay.

From the above it will be apparent that when the device is placed inuse, switch 80 is first closed; next, the operator operates a selectedone of the pushbutton switches 36, the switches being connected from oneside of the" line to the winding of the corresponding relay 39, and thenreturning to the opposite side of the line. As soon as a relay 39 isoperated and its contacts closed, the motor starts to operate and at thesame time, assuming that all of the toggle switches 34 are in theirleft-hand positions, a group of solenoids 24, the plug cords 40 of whichhave been inserted in jacks 38, is also energized, thereby causingstockings to be discharged from the selected machines (or more exactly,from the receptacles 13 associated with those knitting machines) intothe pipes 14, 15, and to drop into the receptacle 20. The motorcontinues to operate until the microswitch 71 associated with thatoperated relay is actuated by means of one of the pins 64, whereuponswitch 71, which has been closed and which has maintained a holdingcircuit through the winding of relay 39, is opened, causing the relay tode-energize and the motor circuit to be broken. This of course stops themotor in a position with the tray corresponding at that time to thegroup of machines from which hose has been discharged into thecontainer, in position behind the opening 29. The operator may then takethe hose one by one from the container 20, inspect it on the inspectionform, and place hosiery which passes inspection on the tray 61associated with that group of machines.

Toggle switches 34 make it possible to cause accumulated stockings fromindividual machines to be discharged into the receptacle 20, as isreadily seen by referring to FIGURE 6. Any toggle switch which isoperated to close the right-hand contact as seen in FIGURE 6 will causeenergization of the corresponding machine solenoid 24 due to thecompletion of a circuit from one side of the DC. source 84 through thetoggle switch and solenoid to the opposite side of the source. Thus ifstockings are being received in the container 20 which upon inspectionprove to be faulty, the operator may be successively throwing the toggleswitches associated with the individual machines of the group from whichfaulty hose has been received, isolate the faulty machine. Means areprovided on the cabinet or console which means comprise pushbuttonswitches 80, one for each knitting machine, which in the usual mannerserve to energize the knitting machine stop motion drive and throw themachine out of service until it has been repaired.

As has been indicated hereinbefore, it is contemplated that two trayselecting mechanisms may be utilized, one set of trays then beingassigned for stacking of hose after inspection, and the other set beingsynchronized with the first set and utilized for storing hose to beinspected as they are received from the knitting machines. In this casethe receiving hopper or container 20 is not utilized, but instead, thedrive chains are made to have a short horizontal run by use of an idlersprocket or the like, and hosiery is discharged directly from the pipes18 into a tray such as 61 from which it is taken for inspection andplaced on another tray in the second group which is assigned to thestacking of hose after inspection. The two tray-selecting mechanisms aresubstantially identical and are operated in synchronism, for example, byhaving the shaft of one of the sprockets 45 extended and having mountedthereon sprockets substantially identical with sprocket 45, which in thesame manner as shown in FIGURE 4, drive chains 48 which pass over upperidler sprockets in the same manner as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Thus trays61 of the two groups move in synchronism so that a storage tray and thecorresponding stacking tray will simultaneously be available. Ifdesired, switches may be installed in the circuit to the b contacts ofall relays 39 so that when the storage trays have been utilized as suchrather than merely as receiving containers, the trays may besuccessively operated into position where they are available to theoperator, without causing discharge of additional hosiery from themachines of the associated group. In this way the inspector can clearthe storage trays, after which the switches mentioned are again closedand the device utilized purely for receiving hose and presentingreceiving trays and stacking trays simultaneously to the operator.

It will be clear from the above that hosiery which is not up-to-standardand which is rejected is laid aside at the inspection position, whilehosiery which is acceptable is stacked in trays according to size andstyle, in a sorted condition ready for the next following operation.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it willbe understood that many variations thereof are possible. I wishtherefore to be limited not by the foregoing description, but on thecontrary, solely by the claims granted to me.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for selecting a group of knitting machines from a pluralitythereof and delivering hosiery from said selected group to a centralstation comprising, in combination, a receptacle at each machine forreceiving hosiery knitted thereby, pneumatic conveying means forconveying hosiery from said receptacles to said central station, saidcentral station being an inspection station, a group of hosieryreceiving trays at said central station, each tray being adapted toreceive a group of hosiery after inspection, endless chains mountingsaid group of receiving trays, one tray of the group being in hosieryreceiving position at each of a plurality of position-s of said chains,motor means driving said chains, means at each machine for discharginghosiery accumulated in the machine receptacle into said conveying means,control means at said central station for operating said dischargingmeans of a group of knitting machines simultaneously to thereby conveyto said central station hosiery knitted by a predetermined group ofmachines, and means operated by said control means for energizing saidmotor and maintaining it energized until the tray assigned to a group ofhose discharged arrives at said receiving station.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said control means comprisesa group of electrical switches and a corresponding group of electricalrelays, each said relay when energized causing energization of saidmotor, and wherein a group of switches equal in number to the number ofsaid relays is mounted adjacent one of said drive chains and said drivechain has spaced thereon at spacings corresponding to the spacing ofsaid trays switch actuators one for each of said group of switches, eachsaid actuator causing the corresponding switch to open and said motortone-energize when the corresponding tray is in said rece1v1ng position.

3. Apparatus for selecting a group of knitting machines from a pluralitythereof and delivering hosiery from said selected group to a centralstation comprising, in combination, a receptacle at each machine forreceiving hosiery knitted thereby, pneumatic conveying means forconveying hosiery from said receptacles to said central station, asolenoid and a valve controlled by said solenoid at each knittingmachine to admit air under pressure into said pneumatic conveyor meansadjacent its point of connection to the corresponding machine receptacleto thereby draw hosiery from said receptacle into said pneumaticconveyor means, a cord plug connected to each of said solenoids, controlmeans at said central station for operating the solenoids of a group ofknitting machines simultaneously to open the corresponding valve toconvey to said central station hosiery knitted by a group of knittingmachines, said control means comprising a plurality of electricalswitches, a plurality of relays equal in number to the number ofelectrical switches, and a plurality of jacks connected to each saidrelay, each said cord plug being insertable in any one of said jacks tothereby determine the grouping of knitting machine receptacles fromwhich hosiery is discharged, a group of hosiery receiving trays, eachtray corresponding to one of said electrical switches and associatedrelay, mean-s comprising a pair of endless chains mounting said hosierytrays, a motor for driving said chains, means for energizing said motorto drive said chains when any one of said relays is operated, and meansoperative when a tray corresponding to said operated switch reaches ahosiery receiving position for de-energizing said operated relay.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein said relay de-energizingmeans comprises a group of switches fixedly mounted adjacent one of saidchains and a plurality of switch actuators equal in number to saidplurality of relays on said chains, each in position corresponding toone of said trays of said group, said actuators opening said switch tode-energize the corresponding relay and stop said motor when a tray of agroup corresponding to the group of knitting machines selected by one ofsaid plurality of switches moves to hosiery receiving position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,994,561 8/ 1961 Kelley 302273,129,573 4/1964 Sampson et al 302-27 3,207,559 9/1965 Poteat et a130227 FOREIGN PATENTS 958,542 5/ 1964 Great Britain.

10 ANDRES H. NIELSEN, Primary Examiner.

